Ocean Man
| "Ocean Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Ween | ||||
| from the album The Mollusk | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Recorded | c. 1995–1996 | |||
| Length | 2:06 | |||
| Label | Elektra Records | |||
| Ween singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Ocean Man" is a song by Ween from the 1997 album The Mollusk.
Song Details[edit | edit source]
Recording and Composition[edit | edit source]
Due to heavy tape speed manipulation, the studio version of "Ocean Man" is in the key of E major, while live performances are in G major.
The lead vocals are sung by Gene Ween, who also plays mandolin on the track.[1]
"Ocean Man" is one of the earliest songs written in the creative process for The Mollusk. It was written in the fall of 1995 within the first two weeks of the first beach house recording sessions for the album.[1] An early demo recording from this period can be found on the semi-official The Mollusk Sessions.
Live Performances[edit | edit source]
Ween debuted "Ocean Man" live in the summer of 1997 on the Mollusk tour, and it has remained a very common live Ween song ever since.[2] Gene Ween often plays the mandolin part during live performances of the song. A 7/7/2000 recording from the White Pepper tour is heard on the Live at Stubb's album, and an 11/7-9/2003 recording from the Quebec tour is on Live in Chicago. Another notable performance was a tribute to late Spongebob Squarepants series creator Stephen Hillenburg (who had died a month prior) on 12/14/2018, in which it was performed immediately after "Loop de Loop".[3]
In other media[edit | edit source]
"Ocean Man" was notably used in the closing credits of the 2004 film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. In 2017, the song went viral on social media, likely as a result of its inclusion.
"Ocean Man" was also used in a 2004 Honda Civic Coupe commercial.[4] Dean Ween later estimated that the commercial had made them about $6,200, "before commissions".[5]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
Official lyrics were printed in the liner notes of The Mollusk album:
Ocean man
Take me by the hand, lead me to the land
That you understand
Ocean man
The voyage to the corner of the globe
Is a real trip
Ocean man
The crust of a tan man embibed[sic] by the sand
Soaking up the thirst of the land
Ocean man
Can you see through the wonder of amazement
At the oberman
Ocean man
The crust is elusive when it casts forth
To the childlike man
Ocean man
The sequence of a life form braised in the sand
Soaking up the thirst of the land
Ocean man[6]
Song Themes[edit | edit source]
Sung by Gene Ween, Tape Speed Manipulation
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.stereogum.com/1951136/weens-the-mollusk-turns-20-an-oral-history-by-mickey-melchiondo/reviews/the-anniversary/
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=137
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz8V0raDZTA
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Cq-vmTzXc
- ↑ Dean Ween Interview | Music Is My Life Podcast Episode 18 | Berklee Online Time=33:50
- ↑ From the Mollusk liner notes